Game of Thrones tops list of most talked about TV shows

Game of Thrones was the most talked about television show in the UK in 2016 if the numbers of mentions on Twitter are anything to go by.

The HBO show was mentioned 1,096,034 times on the popular social network in 2016, suggesting us Brits cannot get enough of the violent medieval fantasy epic based on RR Martin’s book series, A Song of Ice and Fire.

The next most popular show was the BBC’s Doctor Who, which racked up 946,977 times over the same time period. Third place, meanwhile, was The Walking Dead, popularity of which is very much alive and well as it was mentioned 428,115 times.

Top Gear made an appearance in fourth place, with 415,175 mentions, 415,174 of which were probably complaints about lead presenter Chris Evans, who departed from the show after its first season.

The latest Netflix original, Stranger Things, managed fifth place with 189,292 mentions and has earned itself a very high rating from viewers who have clearly fallen for the Spielberg-esque series. Sixth place was BBC Two gangster drama, Peaky Blinders.

Though in its fourth season, the Netflix female prison drama Orange is New Black earned itself 157,045 mentions for a seventh place result. Eighth was Supernatural (147,826 mentions), ninth was The Night Manager (97,362) ─ the show that has ensured Tom Hiddleston is a favourite to be the next James Bond ─ and another Beeb show, Happy Valley (80,337).

Driving such a high level of television is obviously the convenience of streaming services such as Netflix and the ability to get them on most televisions using a device such as Roku, but it seems the fear of missing out (FOMO as the kids call it) is a factor as 38 per cent of 18-34 year olds admitted they watched a movie, TV show or sporting event to feel included as a group.